The 2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring is only available with the SkyActiv 6-speed sport automatic engine.

Mazda’s got a healthy attitude when it comes to serving up an engaging ride.

It doesn’t seem to matter how fast the vehicle might be, as long as it’s seriously good fun to drive. This ethos of excitement has been ingrained into us all by Mazda’s marketing mantra. Seriously, try saying “Mazda” in a conversation without someone replying “Zoom-Zoom!”

They lack a sports coupe at the moment,however. And while the MX-5 (“Miata”, if you’re a traditionalist) has plenty of fans, the pint-sized roadster remains a very divisive car.

Luckily for us, Mazda found its plucky compact, the Mazda3, and midsize family sedan, the Mazda6,can proudly serve as sports car substitutes. The previous Mazda6 was already praised as an athletic alternative in a segment that, frankly, rarely inspires much excitement.

The new model raises the bar higher still.

The 2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring is the latest version of the automaker’s front-wheel-drive sedan. The 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine, equipped with SkyActiv technology, produces 184-horsepower and 185 lb.-ft. of torque. A 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic is offered with in the base and Touring models.

The Grand Touring version, which sits at the top of the range, only comes with the SkyActiv 6-speed sport automatic.

The new Mazda6 updates the exterior styling, borrowing lines from the automaker's takeri concept car and looking good without trying to stand out.

(Mazda)

The first thing to be noticed about the latest Mazda6 is the effort put into updating the exterior. The previous generation wasn’t exactly a hound; it blended into the background with the rest of the segments’ moderate and reasonable (i.e. dull) compatriots.

The lines draw heavily from Mazda’s Takeri concept car, which embodies what Mazda refers to as Kodo, or “soul of motion,” design language. We think the result is a nice blend of daring-do, without looking like it’s trying too hard to stand out from the crowd.

The interior is the home of a very commanding driving position, with a simple layout that makes use of the space available without complicating matters. All major controls are located where you’d expect them.

This intuitive nature holds true for the 5.8 inch touch-screen in the center of the dashboard, which is where you’ll find many accessories that Mazda added as standard equipment.

These features include Bluetooth phone and audio pairing, push-button start, and rear back-up camera. Controls beyond the touch screen can also be manipulated by the handy command switch, located just south of the shift knob.

Clean and simple, the Mazda6 Grand Touring's interior offers a commanding driving position and intuitive control placement.

(Mazda)

While a V-6 engine is no longer available, the combination of a more efficient SkyActiv engine and transmission doesn’t make you miss it. In case you’re new to the Mazda brand, SkyActiv is series of small, but significant, engineering tweaks that deliver better fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance.

In the case of the Mazda6, the 4-cylinder briskly moves things along with its 184-hp and 185 lb.-ft. of torque. Combine this with the car’s fully independent front and rear suspension, and the result is a car whose dynamic performance is unmistakably superior to other vehicles in this segment.

Most of these are offered on the Touring trim as package options, if you want to equip your car à la carte. But the Grand Touring trim gives you an additional “technology package,” which includes Mazda’s i-ELOOP regenerative breaking system.

This idea is nothing new to automobiles, except i-ELOOP has two major differences from conventional re-gen braking. First, the collected energy goes to a capacitor instead of the car battery, which charges instantly and collects more of the regenerative power than the battery would.

Secondly, that collected power doesn’t just go back to work in the car’s electrical system, it’s used to directly power non-drivetrain related systems, like the stereo, headlights and so forth.

That means the car’s engine doesn’t have to work that little bit extra to power the electronic gizmos. According to Mazda, i-ELOOP delivers a 5-percent boost to fuel economy.

That doesn’t seem like a lot, but when it comes to efficiency, every bit helps. This system, combined with SkyActiv, results in a 28/40-mpg average during city and highway driving.

The midsize sedan segment is a hard one to master. The competition is fierce, and customers have wildly different needs. In terms of pricing, Mazda has opted to cover all bases.

The base Mazda6 starts under most competitors with an MSRP of $20,990, and a step over them with the Grand Touring at $29,695. All told, our test vehicle came out to $31,490, which, at that price point, can easily get you out of 4-cylinder engine land.

You would, however, be hard pressed to find a sedan in the segment as fuel efficient, great looking, and just plain fun to drive as the new Mazda6.